


The Sound of Sand Underwater

by Baird Crevan (LadySibilance)



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Action/Adventure, Caravan kind of vibe, Competent Starscream, Decepticons working together, Desert, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Survival
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:40:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28972218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadySibilance/pseuds/Baird%20Crevan
Summary: After Megatron is incapacitated, Starscream and Soundwave have to lead the Decepticons across an unforgiving desert to try and escape the pursuing Autobots.  Starscream keeps trying to leave them, apparently to go get help, but Soundwave devises ways to keep him grounded and close by.
Relationships: Soundwave/Starscream (Transformers)
Comments: 73
Kudos: 86





	1. Flight

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this sitting in my WIP pile for a long time now, and Soundscream/Soundstar week 2021 is a good time to get it out there. I can't promise it'll totally be done and out there by the end of the week, but it'll be fun while we get there.

The Decepticons were in trouble.

They thought they were about to ambush the Prime unawares on a backwater desert planet, but then Ultra Magnus had shown up with a large army contingent. But this wasn’t the worst part.

The _worst_ part was that Starscream had been right. This had been a trap.

“I _told_ you it was a trap,” Starscream had said for the fifteenth time since they had been ambushed. The fifty Decepticons were pinned down in various places throughout the city, trying to get out. Starscream and Soundwave were ducking behind a low stone wall on the roof, trying to find Megatron so that they could escape. 

“Starscream: Vocalizer broken on repeat,” Soundwave drawled, taking a moment to fire at some Autobots that had poked their helms out of their hiding place foolishly. His blaster fire lit up the night as it sailed to its targets.

“Well it bears repeating,” Starscream snapped back, taking a turn to give additional fire to Soundwave’s targets. “Thundercracker and Skywarp are coming in for another bombing run, but then they’ll be out of fuel too,” Starscream said angrily. “We have to _leave_ , Soundwave.”

“Decepticons: Wait for Megatron.”

“Well the old fool won’t answer his comms, so how are we supposed to find him-“

There was a hissing whine that quickly erupted in a crescendo to their left, across the crossroads of the town. The sound was terrifying and both of them felt the increase of dread run up and down their spinal struts.

“GET DOWN!” Starscream cried as he threw himself on top of Soundwave, curling on top of him.

The concussive blast knocked into them as the building exploded, the debris raining down in sharp stinging pellets. There was sand and dust and dirt that coated their plating. Soundwave grunted as Starscream rolled off him painfully. Starscream was wincing, and not saying anything which was uncharacteristic of him, but then again, so was diving to try and protect Soundwave.

Oh, but he was speaking. He felt the vibrations. Starscream was looking at him from the side with pain in his optics, but also looked worried. Soundwave pulled a servo up and felt his audials which had leaking energon coming out of them. Highly tuned to the faintest of sounds, they must have been damaged from the concussive blast. Starscream commed him instead.

: _What’s your damage?:_

 _:Audials:_ he replied. _:Some scrapes. You?:_

_:Fine:_

Starscream pulled himself up, looking out over the edge of their little wall on the roof. Soundwave distantly thought that he was lucky to have been with Starscream when this happened. Soundwave was a good warrior, but Starscream was a survivalist.

He noticed the Starscream had a large gash down his back that was welling with energon but was not life-threatening. Starscream was standing ramrod-straight so as not to stretch or warp the plating with the injury.

: _Found him:_ Starscream commed. His optics were slits and his faceplate was frighteningly underlit from the lingering fires from the explosion. He looked down his nose into the middle of the crossroads and Soundwave could see him sneering.

He also had guessed who had been found.

: _Take me down with you:_ Soundwave said, struggling to get up. Starscream huffed his vents and wrapped an arm under Soundwave’s arm as he ignited his thrusters and glided them down. Soundwave tried to not touch anywhere near the Starscream’s back wound, but it was difficult to be able to hold on.

: _We have to be fast:_ Starscream commed, as if that observation wasn’t obvious. But Starscream wasn’t looking at Megatron’s limp frame, he was looking down the street approaching Autobot scouts and frontliners. 

Starscream’s optics dimmed and it looked like he was comming someone. Then on a wide-band Decepticon frequency Soundwave heard : _Decepticons: retreat to rendezvous point. Autobot frontliners approaching main square. Megatron is incapacitated but alive. Move or get left behind:_

Suddenly, the rest of the command trine transformed and landed next to Starscream. Skywarp went over to Megatron and helped Soundwave lift him up off the ground. Skywarp was saying something to him, but he still couldn’t hear. It looked there was a sharp couple of words from Starscream who now folded his arms across his chassis and glared with frustration at their unconscious leader.

: _Sorry about your audials:_ Skywarp commed to Soundwave. : _I can warp him closer to the meeting point, but you’re going to have to let go. I don’t have much fuel left:_

Soundwave huffed his vents and extricated himself from holding up the warlord. He trusted Skywarp to be loyal but was minorly concerned about competency. Just as Skywarp was about to blink away, there was another cacophonous blast. This one was much farther away, but also much, much larger.

To their abject horror, the entire sky behind them ignited in flame as the space bridge that was lazily spinning in the distance exploded dramatically. 

: _What the frag are they doing?!:_ Starscream said in a group comm. Soundwave turned to Starscream and gave him a _look_. It was the same look they sometimes shared when Megatron stubbornly held to a foolish plan and refused to retreat. Starscream closed his slack jaw and ground his denta. It was a look they shared that meant, “We will have to figure it out.”

: _Skywarp, go now while everyone is distracted:_ He nodded and blinked out of space.

: _Let’s move:_ Starscream said. 


	2. Dangerous Mouth

Starscream was clearly lost in thought. They fought through plenty of Autobots to get to the edge of the city and picked up straggler Decepticons along the way, but Starscream had not uttered a single witty repartee at their foes. Or maybe he did, but Soundwave couldn’t hear it. Losing his hearing had unnerved Soundwave more than he thought it would.  
  
He was pretty sure Starscream would have shared his musings with him though through comms if he was saying things. Which meant something was bothering him.

By the time they reached the rendezvous point at a small old warehouse at the edge of the city, they had found half of the Decepticons they had traveled with. Starscream was just barking orders and yelling at the mechs to get in line or be abandoned. Most of them obeyed the bristling Air Commander if nothing else because someone was taking charge. Soundwave found himself thankful once again for Starscream's presence.

Skywarp flicked his wings in greeting, happily smiling that he had done a good job. Starscream flicked his wings in reluctant acknowledgement, rolling his optics. Soundwave wasn’t sure if they knew he had picked up on their wing language over the millennia, but he wasn’t about to tell them that he knew it, either. 

Hook was assessing Megatron when they arrived. Both Soundwave and Starscream approached. 

: _Megatron: Status:_

Hook looked up and saw the energon stains coming out the side of Soundwave’s helm and winced in sympathy.

: _He’s stable_ : he said in an open comm to the two commanders. : _However, he is comatose. I can’t rouse him; but I’m not sure I’d want to. He’s going to need some time to heal from this. It was close:_

Soundwave could feel the vibration of an annoyed sound coming from Starscream. He imagined the words he had said were something along the lines of “Not close enough.”

: _Let me get a look at those audials, Commander_ : Hook said. : _There is not much else I can do for Megatron right now:_

Soundwave glanced at Starscream who was running about thirty different plots in his head, or at least the equivalent. 

Starscream then met his optics, apparently having come to a decision. : _There is another space bridge on the other side of the planet. We can reach it, but it will take about two weeks by vehicle mode, and we don’t have the fuel to get us there:_ Starscream looked back towards their subordinates. : _I’m taking a small group to go steal components. We might be able to make energon converters from solar energy to help get us there. Otherwise this planet has nothing to aide us:_

_:Autobots: Follow?:_

_:Most likely:_ Starscream said glancing through the windows at the space-bridge explosion still lighting up the night sky with a silent, terrible burning. _:They won’t have a way off the planet either:_

Soundwave nodded and then walked over to Hook, sitting on a container box to allow the Constructicon to look at his audials. : _Starscream: Back wounded:_ he said. The seeker waved a servo in dismissal, clearly annoyed that this was even being brought up. Soundwave sighed as Hook began to work on him in earnest.

: _Starscream: Caution:_

Starscream rolled his optics and went and tapped a few mechs for his operation, including his trine, and the some of the Combaticons.

Soundwave watched him go with concerned optics.

* * *

Starscream and his small little group silently ran back into the city, avoiding Autobot patrols that were still looking for the Decepticon contingent. Skywarp aided by teleporting occasionally ahead to do reconnaissance and then coming back enemy movements, but he was slowing down with shorter distances to conserve fuel. They couldn’t risk flying as that was where all the Autobots currently trained their optics looking for them.

Finally, Starscream found what he was looking for. He signed in the air at his subordinates, indicating the building across the narrow street from them. He didn't dare use comms in case they could be picked up by some clever Autobot tech. Vortex and Onslaught nodded and silently snuck across the road, avoiding debris as carefully as they could. Vortex went to his knees and quickly began to work on the door.

Skywarp teleported back to their group and signed that there were about 10 mechs doing a patrol headed in their direction. Starscream nodded and indicated the rest of the group should cross immediately. Luckily that seemed to time with Vortex’s lock-picking skills.

They fanned out inside the building, clearly a shop that sold components and scrap. They closed the door carefully behind them, snicking the lock closed. “Grab anything and everything, just fill up your subspace,” Starscream rasped quietly. “Especially fuel cells, or photovoltaic components.”

They nodded quietly and began looting the shop. Starscream went behind the counter, looking for the “hidden box,” so-to-speak, or the place where the really _good_ stuff was kept.

They were at it for more than a few kliks, moving quietly, but then someone started to laugh a little. Someone else began whispering harshly. Then someone bumped into something loudly, causing a thud noise. Starscream hissed, and the sounds quieted as they kept raiding the shop.

Thundercracker gave a low chirp-whistle, and everyone froze. There was some murmuring of voices outside of the door, but no visible movement as of yet. When it sounded like they weren’t going to leave, Starscream signed telling them to go out the back.

Each mech took a turn, silently crouching and making their way out the back door of the shop. Starscream was last, but just as he was about to leave, he spied a chest under a table that looked tantalizing. He quickly went to it, made short work of the lock and just started grabbing whatever he found and throwing it into subspace quickly.

Unfortunately, he had failed to notice the voices outside had stopped until it was too late.

Frontliners burst in the front door, and immediately tackled Starscream to the ground. Starscream was snarling and managed to get in a few swipes, struggling with the two Autobots as they attempted to subdue him. Finally, one kneed him in the fuel tank. He doubled over as they pulled his arms around his back. He was panting from exertion and giving them some lurid tips about how they could go frag themselves.

They dragged the resisting Starscream out to the front of the shop, slapping some stasis cuffs on his wrists and held him still as the mech that was in charge appeared.

“Imagine finding you here when I had heard all the Decepticons were leaving the city,” the Autobot Commander Pheltus said with a smirk. “And _you_ of all mechs.” His smirk darkened. 

Starscream stopped resisting and cursed silently. “Pheltus, my old _friend_ , good to see you again! Been such a long time since Teicury 048, I thought you might have offlined-“ he had started, until he was backhanded across the faceplate.

“Oh, I apologize, you were speaking,” Pheltus said with an optic-twitch. Starscream grinned despite the tightness in his faceplate from the blow. Looks like he still knew what buttons to push with this one. Teicury 048 was not a memory Pheltus likely relished in. “Let’s have you say something _actually_ worthwhile, hmm? Something like the location of Megatron?”

Starscream rolled his optics dramatically. “Why in Primus would I tell you that? Did you forget how to interrogate correctly? Usually you need to do a little more than _slap me around_ to get me to talk Pheltus.” He allowed a glossa to run along the edge of his fangs and his lips curved into a sadistic smile. It definitely unnerved the other frontliners watching the display.

Pheltus was undeterred, which was precisely what Starscream hoped would happen. “Oh, I _remember_ , Starscream,” he said huskily. The seeker gave a quick flick of the optics that was enough to tell him that the others apparently didn’t know about their Commander’s choice methods of interrogation.

The Autobot commander tilted his helm to the side and stepped closer. He grabbed Starscream’s jaw and pulled, throwing him off balance so that he stumbled forward a little. Starscream bit back a small, unbidden gasp of panic that betrayed the façade he was trying to keep up. The stasis cuffs chafed as he twisted to regain his balance. “Now, do you want to tell us where Megatron is? Or do we have to go through this silly game we play where you pretend to _like_ what I’m doing to you?”

Starscream glared hatefully, trying to maintain a smirk but was rapidly failing at the mech’s proximity and touch.

Phetlus’s grip tightened. “If you tell us, I might even let you go. _After_ you and I get reacquainted that is.”

A chirp-whistle echoed across the air. Starscream then relaxed and smiled malevolently. “You really shouldn’t have just cuffed my wrists. My _mouth_ is far more dangerous, Pheltus.” Before the orange and yellow mech could respond, Starscream chirp-whistled back.

Suddenly Skywarp was draped behind him, one arm around his shoulder, protectively on his chest, the other snaked around his waist. “Seems you were going to start a party without me,” he said kissing the side of Starscream’s helm. Starscream smirked at Pheltus.

The Commander cursed and pulled back, releasing his touch from Starscream, recognizing the new seeker and his outlier ability. “Don’t touch them!” he yelled. “You’ll be transported into the middle of an ambush.”

Skywarp blew Pheltus a kiss and Starscream gave him a dramatic wink, and the two of them disappeared into thin air.

Pheltus cursed again, sending his mechs to fan out and search _harder_.


	3. Don't Run Away

Skywarp transported them about as far away as his ability could go on top of a roof where the others were waiting. Wordlessly, Starscream turned and Onslaught removed the stasis cuffs off of his Commander.

“That was Pheltus, wasn’t it,” Skywarp whispered, his red optics watching Starscream’s faceplate carefully. Starscream was staring off into the middle-distance, contemplating something.

“Yes,” he said after a moment. “That was Pheltus.” A shiver. “Let’s move.”

Carefully, they climbed down off of the roof and moved together as a unit, effortlessly avoiding the search parties as they made their way back to the warehouse.

“Be ready to move in ten kilks,” he shrilled to the mechs waiting about. At the sight of Starscream, they jumped to attention and quickly began gathering up supplies and injured mechs. The seeker walked past them all and went to the back where Soundwave and Hook were still talking over Megatron’s quiet frame.

Upon hearing him approach, the pair turned around, though Hook’s eyes went wide at the new dents and injuries the seeker was now sporting. Hook quickly went to patching him up, while Starscream trained his gaze on the tape-deck.

“Audials fixed?”

Hook sighed, as he applied nanite gel to Starscream’s back. “Sadly no, sir. I lack the ability to synthesize something so delicate at the moment.”

 _:Starscream: Was not careful:_ Soundwave chided good-naturedly.

Starscream smirked. _:I don’t take orders from you:_ he replied. _:We need to move out in the next ten kliks. Pheltus and Magnus are circling and will find us soon. I’d want to try and get a head start into the desert before the heat picks up:_

 _:Pheltus:_ Soundwave repeated with a piercing look through his visor.

Starscream ignored the look and swallowed. _:The problem is going to be coolant. We are going to have to travel at night and hide during the day. Not just from the Autobots but also from the sun:_

: _Query: Steal more coolant?:_

Starscream shook his head. _: Unfortunately, the native’s coolant is not compatible with our own. Mixmaster is attempting to synthesize more for us, but it might not be enough._ : The seeker sighed as Hook applied a patch to his back. _:The real problem will be energon. I have enough components to make a converter I think:_

The seeker’s gaze flicked to the bulky form of their leader. : _Are you sure we can’t leave him behind?:_ he asked, not being terribly serious. But maybe a little.

Luckily Soundwave knew him well enough to know when he was _actually_ plotting to destroy Megatron or if he was just being playful in a stressful situation.

 _:Soundwave_ : Starscream continued without taking his optics off of Megatron. _:If I make enough energon, I could leave and get help. I could take Thundercracker and Skywarp-:_

 _:Starscream: Not running away:_ Soundwave interrupted.

The seeker’s helm snapped up to lock optics with him. _:That’s not what I was suggesting. I could leave, get a ship, get us out of this mess-”_

 _:Starscream_ : _Not running away:_ Soundwave repeated, more forcefully this time.

Starscream huffed his vents and rippled his plating in offense. _:Why would I run away?:_

Soundwave allowed his gaze to pierce Starscream again, affixing him with a stare. _:Pheltus:_

Starscream lifted his chin, his faceplate sneering. But Soundwave saw the flicker of hurt in his optics. He turned and stalked off, presumably to yell more orders about the mechs not moving fast enough.

* * *

The air around them wasn’t just _hot_ , it seared their throats and vents down to their intakes. They were all desperately trying to keep their temperatures regulated as they slogged across the barren landscape. Endless beige dunes stretched for miles in any direction around them.

They cut a pathetic sight Soundwave knew. The main command unit of the Decepticon army was walking in a line across the scorching sands, and every one of them had some kind of damage. If they weren’t walking, they were in vehicle mode, carrying those more wounded than they were.

Megatron was still unconscious and showed no signs of waking.

Starscream called a halt and started issuing commands to make camp. The heat was becoming unbearable, especially for those running in vehicle mode. Tarps that they had stolen that matched the desert sands were thrown over poles, and mechs practically dashed to get under the shade that was created. Many Decepticons had unfortunately dark color schemes, making their discomfort worse than their lighter painted brethren.

Skywarp was particularly loud in complaining.

Starscream had settled into his work in creating an energon converter. He said it was a basic field design trying to soak up the sun’s scorching rays to convert it into their fuel source. He did have to make it bigger than usual though because there were so many mechs to feed in the army.

Soundwave watched Starscream work and then privately commed Onslaught and Brawl with some specific instructions. They nodded their understanding and took up residence inside the same tent as Starscream.

Soundwave walked into a makeshift tent that had been provided for Megatron’s unconscious form, and saw Hook looking over datapads about Megatron’s condition. Megatron’s visible injuries were healing well, but he still did not wake up from whatever kind of stasis he had fallen into. Hook looked up and waved.

 _:No new updates, Commander:_ Hook commed. 

Soundwave nodded. He wondered if they were actually going to make it this time. The war had been going on for some time, and though the two factions were evenly matched, it seemed that the Decepticons were constantly on the run lately. There were rumors of a traitor amongst them, but Soundwave knew that was baseless speculation. He had personally scanned every member of the army for deceit and no one was harboring any secret plots.

Other than the normal ones.

It was no small secret that Starscream wanted Megatron gone, but Soundwave also knew that at the moment Starscream would give anything to have Megatron back in charge.

Soundwave exited the tent to see Starscream looking like he was about to kill someone.  
  
Starscream was on the tips of his pedes, gesticulating wildly at Onslaught, his fanged denta snapping as he hurled invectives. Soundwave sighed. He had guessed right.

He had figured that Starscream was further along on the development of the energon converter than he was letting on. If Starscream looked like he was about to try and fuel himself secretly, he had asked Onslaught and Brawl to stop him.

They stood between Starscream and the energon converter that was now quickly producing ration cubes from the intense beating light of the sun overhead.

 _:Starscream:_ Soundwave commed.

Starscream whipped his helm around and glared hatefully at him. _:I wasn’t going to leave:_ he said.

 _:Probably not:_ Soundwave admitted. _:But I removed the temptation anyway:_

Starscream frowned and looked away with a sigh that rippled through his whole frame. 

_:You are needed here. Stay. Please_. _:_ Soundwave commed, hoping his sincerity came through the channel.

Starscream glanced up at Soundwave with his deep red optics. He clearly was feeling betrayed and upset, but Soundwave also knew that Starscream didn’t blame him for the lack of trust. He turned around to stalk out to go under a different tarp.

Soundwave thanked Onslaught and Brawl and let them refuel first before comming the rest of the army for their rations. Starscream noticeably waited until the very end to receive his ration without meeting Soundwave’s optics.


	4. Day or Night

Soundwave woke to Starscream gently shaking him awake.  
  
: _Autobots have been sighted behind us:_ he said, his optics tired. It looked like he hadn’t recharged at all.  
  
Soundwave nodded, attempting to stand. Starscream held out a servo to help him up. Soundwave looked at it for a moment and then took it, pulling himself up to his pedes.  
  
 _:How far?:_

_:Maybe about 100 miles. We can’t tell how big of a contingent they are, but the dust they are kicking up is enough to make me worried.:_

Soundwave watched Starscream carefully. His wings were hiked up far up his back, and his optics were bright with unease as they stared out at the horizon in the direction of the chasing Autobots.

 _:We will stay ahead of them:_ Soundwave assured him. 

Starscream turned his worried optics to Soundwave. _:You sound so sure.:_ It was clear from the sag of his frame that Starscream did not believe him in the slightest.  
  
Soundwave took a step closer to Starscream and put a servo on the frightened seeker’s shoulder. _:You will help us figure a way out of this. You always do.:_

Starscream looked at the servo touching him, as if deciding whether he wanted it there or not. He then relaxed slightly, the coil of tension he was carrying around lessening just a little.

Some mechs appeared and started taking down the tent around them. Starscream and Soundwave stepped away from each other without a word and began to issue orders to pack up camp and move out.

It was still extremely hot, but they had to try to put distance between them and their pursuers. The Autobots had managed to befriend the natives here, so they were likely getting all the supplies they needed.

Or… so Soundwave had thought. It was somewhat clear it wasn’t the Autobots who had destroyed the spacebridge. Why had the natives seen fit to do that? Maybe things weren’t as cozy with the Autobots as he had originally guessed.  
  
Those with useful alt-modes transformed and allowed themselves to be loaded with the wounded. Long Haul in particular earned his name, receiving the honor of transporting Megatron himself. 

The Elite trine and Vortex were given an extra half-ration so that they could fly and scout ahead. It wasn’t enough fuel for them to get off the planet but considering how they burned through fuel faster than anyone, they needed a little bit of extra. Skywarp in particular looked excited to go flying; the oppressive heat of the desert disappeared the higher you got into the sky.

The four of them jumped into the sky and fanned out across the sea of dunes in front of them.  
  


* * *

  
Starscream threw his scanners to check the atmosphere. The gravity on this planet required a lot of fuel to break terminal velocity and get into space. He’d have to siphon off fuel into his emergency tank over time, and then _maybe_ he could escape, but he couldn’t risk underfueling himself too much. Soundwave was far too clever to not notice if he was weaker than usual.

 _Curse_ that Soundwave! Of course he knew what Starscream was going to try to do, almost before Starscream knew himself. As soon as Starscream had mentioned Pheltus, should have known he was going to have trouble.

 _Pheltus_. Some kind of Praxian he had always assumed, with a yellow chevron and burnt orange plating and teal accents. When he had appeared in the interrogation room, Starscream had sneered and laughed. 

_He spit energon out of his mouth and raised his chin in defiance. “Step right up! Get your punch in on Starscream, second-in-command of the Decepticons! See if beating him will make him talk! I_ could _tell you that you are wasting your time, but what fun would that be?”_

_“Considering how Megatron has conditioned you to such treatment, I imagine you’ll think we’re just greeting you like an old friend.”_

_Starscream had arched an optic-ridge at this new Autobot’s demeanor. “I’m sure you think you have the_ perfect _way to break me, but I assure you, you don’t.”_

_“Who said I wanted to break you?” He turned to the other guards in the room. “You may go.”_

_One of the guards hesitated. “Captain Pheltus, that is against protocol-”_

_Pheltus nodded. “It absolutely is. Well done, you’ve passed the test,” he said. “You will find I have a special clearance to break protocol, solider. Please leave.”_

_The room emptied then, and Starscream tried to relax the rising anxiety he felt settling in his bound wings. “What, no audience? That’s a shame.”_

_Pheltus tilted his helm. “You know what the best part about being an Autobot is? During the day I get to pretend I’m morally righteous and at night, I can wash myself off of all those lies and indulge myself. I know you have likely been in here for a long time and your chronometer is broken, but… do you know if it is day or night right now?”_

_Starscream’s smile hardened. “This is amusing. I’m sure this works on weak grunts, but you will have try harder to get me to talk.”_

_“You assume that is all this is. It will be great if you give me information, Starscream. But this is really just about… me.”_

_Starscream’s smile slowly faded._

There was a low-fuel alarm that was going off on his internal HUD and he realized he didn’t have much time left before he should turn around. He looked back over his passive scans and found there was nothing interesting about the landscape below them that would aid them. Just like he thought.  
  
But then something caught his sensors. A clearly unnatural structure possibly built by the natives; it was poking slightly out of the sand on the ground and hinted that there was a lot more underneath.

If they couldn’t run from the Autobots, maybe they could hide?

He quickly flipped around and jetted back to the main contingent of Decepticons, pouring over his scans to see if there was a way in.


	5. Something You Like

: _I’m back_ : Starscream commed him. : _Not much to see out there, except maybe a plan_ :

: _A plan?:_ Soundwave was assisting Hook with a minor repair on Onslaught’s leg. He’d been limping around the camp and had yet to seek medical attention. Blast Off had finally tripped him on purpose to get him to stay still long enough for Hook and Soundwave to evaluate him.

They had stopped moving across the dunes to rest and refuel. It was early evening after the oppressive sun had set, and so they really should keep moving as long as they possibly can. But several in the contingent had injuries that could not wait.

: _Where are you?:_

Soundwave pinged him a location in response. Onslaught was apparently yelling at Hook, and the Constructicon “medic” was arguing back based on his fearsome and angry face. Soundwave wasn’t sure this was a good time to leave and find the returning seeker.

Not being able to hear their inane argument was a small blessing to his audials still being blown. Mostly all he heard was something similar to being underwater and hearing the tides and eddies move rocks and sand against each other. It was better than just straight static.

Starscream came to him, his optics bright, his frame relaxed from his flight. Soundwave was happy for it; Starscream in particular was better to deal with once he had stretched his wings. Said wings were twitching from use, and Starscream looked… younger. Starscream noticed his gaze and raised an optic-ridge.

: _See something you like, Sounders?:_

Soundwave had never been particularly fond of the nickname, but for some reason didn’t mind it when Starscream said it. : _You are in a better mood._ :

Starscream smiled tightly, looking like he was about to say something impertinent, when his faceplate contorted in annoyance. He yelled something to Hook and Onslaught. Based on his lips, it was something along the lines of “Get over yourself you fraggers, put up or shut up,” or something just as pithy.

Starscream beckoned to Soundwave to follow him. They walked up the side of a nearby dune and looked out over the landscape. In the distance were probably the Autobots but they had put in enough distance that it was no longer a problem. : _Your audials being broken is really starting to be annoying_ :

Soundwave smiled under his faceplate. : _Did you have a something in particular you wanted me to hear?_ :

Starscream gave him a side-glance. _:No, I’m just sick of being the only one who can yell at these fraggers to stay in line. My voice is hoarse enough as it is:_

This was one of the reasons why Soundwave needed Starscream to help keep control over the Decepticons. You couldn’t ignore him like you could ignore Soundwave.

Starscream sighed beside him; Soundwave saw the rise and fall of his chassis as he vented. : _Out there, due east of our position, are some ruins. I think if the Autobots start to gain on us, we can rally there and hide_ :

: _Or make a stand?_ :

Starscream was uncomfortable then, and he crossed his arms across his chassis. : _Making a stand against such a large army of Autobots does not exactly sound appealing._ :

: _We might not have a choice._ :

Starscream made an irritated noise. : _We have PLENTY of choices. One of which is to just give them Megatron's corpse and escape with our lives._ :

: _Starscream_.:

: _We cannot let any of us be taken prisoner. We know too much about where all of the other Decepticon forces are. They have mind technicians on their side, Soundwave, they’ll get in there and find out what we know.:_

: _Starscream_.: Soundwave tried again. : _I’m not going to let Pheltus capture you._ :

He expected Starscream’s denial, his yelling, a shriek. Instead, he got unnerving, stoic silence. And it wasn’t just because his audials were broken.

: _We tried to rescue you as soon as we found out where you were. Megatron made it the highest priority_.:

Starscream looked down at the sandy ground at that revelation. He was thinking, hard. : _Soundwave. If… it looks like we are going to be captured. I’m going to need you to… make sure that doesn’t happen. To me._ :

Soundwave thought about this for a moment. Starscream was likely serious. While the exact details of his interment and torture were mostly a mystery to him, what he did know was it took a month for Starscream to behave anywhere close to his normal self. Even then, he was quieter than usual and more prone to fear and cowardice. He had gotten over it, at least publicly. Soundwave always wondered though if Starscream had ever fully healed.

: _I will do what needs to be done_.: He wasn’t sure that would be killing him, but Starscream didn’t seem to notice the carefully chosen statement. Instead, he nodded.

And leaned against Soundwave.

Soundwave and Starscream were not exactly… close. They were often at opposite ends of the spectrum when it came to command and dealing with Megatron’s more interesting or foolish plans. Soundwave preferred to massage things quietly while publicly decrying their brilliance. Starscream preferred to call it stupid if it was stupid and punch a hole through it until it worked.

But they also often found themselves working together to try and hold the Decepticons together. Now was just the most recent example of how Megatron’s rashness didn’t pay off and it was up to them to try and fix it.

But when Starscream leaned against him, he found himself desiring to wrap and arm around him to comfort him. He only barely stopped himself.

Starscream was warm against him. He could feel his plating ruffle a little, and the gentle whirring of his components within. He could feel Starscream’s venting as he slowly relaxed against him. After a few moments, Starscream went to pull away, but Soundwave stopped him with a servo.

: _Please don’t leave the planet. I can’t do this without you._ :

Starscream stilled, not meeting his optics. Soundwave knew Starscream was still plotting to try and escape, almost as if he couldn’t stop himself from plotting in some way.

: _You would do just fine_ : Starscream replied. : _You are selling yourself short_ :

: _I could not have made an energon converter. I can make cubes, but not fast enough to feed the army._ :

Starscream paused, and it was clear that he was still not himself because he wasn’t crowing at the praise. : _I… I can’t… think of anything else._ : There was a lot of fear in his optics. 

_:We will protect you._ I _will protect you.:_

Starscream was vulnerable then before him. He looked up, and opened his mouth, wanting to say something out loud.

He snapped his mouth shut and sighed. : _I… need to go check the energon converter_ :

Soundwave watched him and his retreating back, his wings low behind him.


	6. It's Only Logical

They trudged on.

They were starting to slow down. Whereas previously they could have made about five hundred miles in a day, they were down to barely two hundred now. The planet was expansive, and they were only about a quarter of the way to the other space bridge.

Those who traveled in vehicle mode had to release some air out of their tires to give themselves more surface area as they traveled along the hot sands. Even so, someone invariably got stuck and needed help getting pulled out of the sand with some regularity. They took their earful from Starscream, the dirty looks from everyone else, and then someone would help pull them out.

But the number of injuries was mounting. Scorched plating, helmaches from processor lag, dings and dents from rocks all made for an unhappy group.

Starscream and Soundwave were constantly conferring on the next course of action. Soundwave knew that Starscream kept trying to edge them towards those ruins he had seen, and he was amenable to give Starscream what he wanted. It would be nice to be able to stop for more than a few hours. Everyone was exhausted, irritable, and constantly in a state of almost overheating, so getting away from it might help them survive.

The Autobots were gaining on them at this point. Maybe they were taking shifts in traveling, or maybe they had used some kind of tech from the native population that hastened their pace, but every time the Decepticons looked back the clouds of dust grew bigger behind them. 

Starscream was obsessed with watching it. Occasionally he would look back towards his trine, and Soundwave realized he wasn’t just worried for himself.

Soundwave also realized he was starting to obsess too… but not about the Autobots.

He thought that Starscream had started to look genuinely happy to see him after coming back from patrol. His optics would light up when Soundwave would gently wake up after the short rest of recharge that he managed to slip in. His wings were animated and happy when Soundwave came to talk to him.

He hoped he wasn’t misreading the signs. Seducing Starscream could be a way to keep him from leaving the planet from a completely practical standpoint. Keeping him close by was paramount to the survival of the Decepticons, and even more importantly, Megatron himself. Soundwave was thinking pragmatically. Romantic entanglements between them would better serve the army.

That would be all it was.

He was sure of it.

So why was he hesitating.

Soundwave knew in theory how to seduce Starscream. You praised him. You gave him gifts. You touched him if he would allow it. You told him secrets and made yourself vulnerable to him, and he in turn would do the same. And then, you made him yours.

Soundwave was slowly going through the steps. In some ways he was a little astounded it had never occurred to him before to try; it could be a way to stop Starscream from being so foolish about his plots to overthrow Megatron. By nature of their positions in the army, they saw each other often, and in all honestly, the seeker was not bad looking. Everything made sense.

And he wanted to do it.

But something was holding him back from properly taking advantage of the situation he found himself in.

_:Soundwave, I’m not sure we’re making enough coolant to keep up with these temperatures.:_

Starscream was walking towards him with a frown. He looked exhausted, but in a way that made him more endearing. Soundwave turned to him. _:What do you mean?:_

_:I see a lot of us on the verge of overheating. Maybe the coolant isn’t strong enough?:_

_:Mixmaster said it was the right ratio mix.:_

_:I know what he_ said _:_ Starscream’s wings ruffled. _:That doesn’t mean he’s right. Or that there is a factor we’re not taking into account.:_ He was holding his chin now in deep thought. Soundwave had determined that Megatron was not using Starscream correctly. Given a particular problem and support, Starscream found ways to fix the problem and innovative ways to prevent it from happening again.

Suddenly, Starscream’s helm snapped to their left. Soundwave followed his line of sight and saw that the cloud of dust signaling the Autobots had grown perilously close during their conversation.

 _:LET’S MOVE!:_ Starscream practically shrieked over the Decepticon comms frequency. 

There were more than a few grimaces as mechs pulled themselves up and transformed to continue on.

* * *

Once again, they managed to put a little distance between them, and had to rest for recharge even though it was night.

Starscream was tired and just wanted a berth to recharge in and… think in. But alas, none were to be had in the _fragging_ _desert_.

He hated this. The heat made his processor lag, the sand made his joints grind, the sandy wind was stripping his paint. And Soundwave was trying to make him responsible.

It was actually starting to get a little cold. That was what was annoying about the desert. The heat of the day made you wish for colder climes, but then night would come, and you would wish for the scorch of the day. Starscream tried to find someone to sleep next to.

Despite his reputation in the army, he didn’t think anyone would begrudge him terribly if he sidled up next to them to recharge. He might get a grunt of displeasure, but he didn’t think he’d be full out attacked.

Luckily his trine was nearby. He found them, recharging on the ground with Skywarp spooning Thundercracker. He had noted it was usually the other way around when he saw them cuddling, so this was an interesting display. He moved closer to try and get in on the warmth, but then he saw that their hands were intertwined and Skywarp nuzzled into Thundercracker’s neck.

Three’s a… crowd. He sighed.

In fact, he found himself distressed that no one seemed like a good candidate to siphon warmth off of. Maybe Onslaught, but he was wrapped around Blastoff and Vortex. The Constructicons were similarly ensconced.

The only mech available was Soundwave. And… he wasn’t recharging yet. 

That might make this awkward. But he decided he didn’t care.

Starscream walked over to him, as he was looking over a datapad. Starscream sat next to him, probably closer than was strictly necessary.

Soundwave turned to him with amusement in his visor. _:Do you need something, Starscream?:_

_:Yeah, your frame:_

Well, he immediately regretted that statement.

 _:It’s cold; I just want to recharge:_ Starscream elaborated. 

Soundwave wrapped an arm around his back and pulled him closer. _:Feel free. I’m still warm from the day._ :

Starscream was surprised and almost squawked when he was pulled up against Soundwave, his cheek smashed up against his chassis. But once there, he noticed Soundwave’s frame _was_ much warmer than he had expected. It was really nice and made him relax.

 _:Are you alright?:_ Starscream asked dimly. _:Your frame is really warm:_

Soundwave nodded. _:I’m fine. Go to recharge.:_

Starscream wanted nothing more than to obey, but he found his processor running over thoughts in his helm that he couldn’t turn off. He’d tried to disable the thought routines, but they kept popping back up, unbidden. 

It was no small thing what had happened to him, and he understood that. He had managed to suppress most of what had happened with Pheltus and just filed it away under “to deal with later” in his processor. But knowing that he was here, and that they were close to being captured or killed brought everything to the forefront. 

Still, mechs got captured, interrogated, and tortured all the time. He had done it himself. It had been done to him before. It was a normal discourse of the war.

Pheltus had been different.

In an embarrassingly short amount of time, Starscream had gone from being in control of the situation to losing control of everything. Pheltus was a master of the spoken word and might even had some kind of outlier ability that his words just _resonated_ in Starscream’s helm, even now. He said things that both felt true and were not at the same time, and Starscream began to question his sanity.

And _then_ the torture started.

He involuntarily shuddered, and it drew Soundwave’s attention.

 _:I’m just cold:_ Starscream said, trying to cut off the line of questioning. Soundwave had been asking a lot of questions lately and Starscream was growing afraid that he was going to let something actually important slip soon.

Soundwave was now stroking the side of his helm, and Starscream relaxed more.

 _:I told you it was a trap:_ Starscream said with a smirk as he let recharge take him.

Soundwave nodded, letting himself find a little bit of recharge as well.


	7. You Seem Pleased

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I can't post this every day anymore, BUT I am committed to finishing this soon :) Stay tuned and I hope you are enjoying this ride <3

Soundwave woke to a pastel blue dawn starting to creep across the sky. As he came out of recharge, he realized he felt incredibly groggy, almost as if he hadn’t slept at all. His helm pounded and he winced as he pulled a servo to the bridge of his nose to squeeze to try and release some of the pressure there. He checked his gauges and saw that he was both extremely low on energon and coolant and needed to get his rations of both as soon as possible.

But Starscream was still asleep, tucked under his arm and his helm was resting on his chassis. 

The smaller seeker was venting softly in his recharge. This close, Soundwave could see the tiny cracks in his armor that came from a lack of proper care and the areas where the sand had buffed away some color leaving just the silver plating underneath. He did not look his usual brilliant self, but then again, none of them did. 

At the same time, he was so peaceful. Starscream had been such a bundle of anxiety since they had started running, and only now that he was in recharge did he seem relaxed. Soundwave watched him as his frame moved slightly with his venting.

As if sensing the gaze, Starscream woke and lifted his helm off of Soundwave’s chest to look up at him. It was an accident that their faces were only microns apart. Starscream’s optics were a little unfocused still from waking up but they quickly affixed on Soundwave’s faceplate with a little bit of surprise. 

They sat there starting at each other for a long time, the intensity increasing with each passing moment.   
  
Something drew Starscream’s attention away, and it broke the spell. Starscream pulled back, untwining himself from the frame he was wrapped around and avoiding Soundwave’s gaze. His wings twitched with what Soundwave knew was embarrassment. Soundwave straightened his back and moved to try and get up to finally get his rations. 

But he faltered.

Soundwave’s whole frame was shaking as he slumped forward. His servos hit the ground to try and brace himself. He felt incredibly hot, sweltering, lagging, _awful_. He wanted to purge what little energon he had in his tanks, but he managed to stop himself. He pulled his facemask off to try and vent more of the arid air, but it didn’t seem to be helping.  
  
He didn’t know how long he was there, gripping the gritty sand in his servos, trying to control whatever kind of attack was happening to his frame.

Someone was pushing a cube of coolant to his lips and he drank it, eagerly. The viscous liquid went down his intake and he felt it filter into his tanks. Immediately the heat began to dissipate as the coolant transferred the heat away from his sensitive systems, and he was able to relax.

 _:Why did you let your coolant get so low?:_ He could hear the concern in Starscream’s voice.

 _:I didn’t think it was as low as it was. And then you were asleep on top of me.:_ He turned and gave Starscream a quick smirk.

Starscream looked shocked for a moment. Soundwave was confused at the reaction but then realized this might actually be the first time Starscream had seen him without the facemask. He had never intended for his full face to be such a mystery to most of the Decepticons, but as time went on he just enjoyed having his privacy and was minorly amused at the guesses of the army as to why he wore the mask.

He gave Starscream a gentle look and mouthed, “Hi,” silently with a smile.

Starscream’s optics were watching his lips and then they flicked back up to meet his optics. _:I thought you’d be ugly.:_ He gave a tiny smirk.

Soundwave smiled back. _:You seem pleased.:_

Starscream’s smirk faltered just a little as if he realized what he had said. _:Are you feeling better?:_

He nodded but then stopped. _:Actually. That should have been enough coolant to fully fill my tanks, but they are only reading as half full.:_

Starscream frowned, his frame moving like he was sighing. _:I was afraid of this. I think there is something in the makeup of the air of the planet that is making it hard for our systems to adjust, and we are burning through our coolant faster as a result.:_ Soundwave pulled back from being on all fours and sat down again, leaning on his servos behind him. Starscream similarly sat down, no longer crouching beside Soundwave.

He was thinking, hard, Soundwave could see. His optics were staring at nothing in particular, his servo was under his chin, and a digit was absently tapping his lips as he pondered the problem. Soundwave had no doubt that he could figure it out.   
  
_:I’ll need to go gather some minerals,:_ he finally said after a few minutes. _:I think we need something to make the coolant harder to burn through. It’s going to taste horrible, but I think it will be more efficient. Mixmaster and I have been talking about it and we think it could work.:  
  
_ The sky now a glowed a dusky pink color, announcing that the sun was coming soon. Starscream looked up and frowned. _:I will need to go now before the sun rises.:_

Soundwave leaned forward, a prick of fear in his tanks. _:You can’t go by yourself_.:

Starscream took his optics off the sky and slowly lowered them to Soundwave’s face. _:I won’t attract as much attention if I’m alone. And I won’t go far.:_

Soundwave examined Starscream’s face for any sign of deceit. It was possible this was a ruse and he was going to try and make a break for the upper atmosphere. While getting Soundwave some coolant, he might have found some extra rations of energon and might be preparing to leave. But they _needed_ this coolant problem fixed in order to survive. Soundwave knew he was the first to suffer the effects because he had been purposely giving up his ration so that the vehicle-alts could have a little more.

He had to trust Starscream.

But maybe he could convince him to still come back.

Before he could think better of it, Soundwave leaned forward and pressed his lips to Starscream’s in a pleading kiss. He could feel Starscream stiffen in surprise, and Soundwave pressed a little harder into the kiss to try and show him he meant it. Despite knowing this had started as a tactic, Soundwave also realized this was something he actually had wanted to do for a while.

Starscream was so beautiful, so intelligent, and had many of the skills that Soundwave lacked. He wasn’t sure they could have anything together, but Soundwave didn’t care. He would settle for this heated moment on a desert planet while they both tried to save the Decepticon army as they ran from the Autobots and Starscream’s past.

He pulled back, his optics behind his visor cast down. He couldn’t quite bring himself to look Starscream in the optics, unsure of what he would find there. Revulsion? Anger?... Reciprocation?

Soundwave wasn’t sure what he feared more at this point.

_:I apologize. I shouldn’t have done-:_

_:WHATHEFRAGDON’TYOUDARE-:_

Soundwave looked up with surprise, seeing Starscream launch himself at him, wrapping his arms around his neck and pulling him close into a fevered second kiss. Soundwave quickly wrapped his arms around him back, pulling him close, gently squeezing the seeker that had somehow managed to capture his spark.

Starscream’s digits were practically leaving dents on his back with how tightly they were gripping him. Soundwave turned his helm to explore Starscream’s mouth further, and he could _feel_ the vibrations of a small moan come from Starscream’s vocalizer.

_:Frag, why the frag did you wait so long?:_

Soundwave merely smiled as Starscream kissed him deeper. 

: _I have to go.:_ Starscream said, finally pulling back. _:We need these materials before the sun is fully up or else we are in trouble.:_

Soundwave looked at him with concern but nodded. _:Please hurry. We’ll leave in three hours if you aren’t back in time, but we’ll meet you back at the ruins. If you aren’t back by midday, I’m sending anyone with flight after you.:_

Starscream smirked. _:_ So _concerned.:_ He stood and walked to the edge of the camp, preparing to jump into a take-off. He turned to Soundwave and mouthed, “I’m coming back.”

“I know,” Soundwave mouthed back.

And with that, Starscream jumped into the air and transformed, his thrusters engaging and quickly receded into the sky.


End file.
